SUPER Eagles former captain, Nwankwo Kanu, was in the national team camp on Wednesday on the invitation of some senior members of the side to mediate on the crisis that is threatening to tear the team to shreds.
A source close to the team revealed that there are three groups in the camp, one led by an assistant coach and comprising mainly the northern players, a Yobo group and also sympathizers with Emmanuel Emenike, who is said to be a victim of petty jealousy.
Then, Osaze Odemwingie is said to be up in arms against Coach Stephen Keshi, who according to the source, has not been behaving like an elder in the team.
The source said: “Kanu met with the team in a bid to restore peace in the group. He tried to impress on them the need to be united, which is very essential if Nigeria must beat Bosnia and Argentina to qualify for the second round.
“At the end of the day, the impression we got was that things have been patched up. But we have tried to get top officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to take more interest in what is happening in the camp because some people are trying to destroy that team.
“I must be sincere with you, for the first time the NFF has left everything for Keshi to deal with. They are scared of Keshi’s blackmail, but I think they should have paid more attention to events in camp.
“The NFF allowed one London-based agent to put four players, who cannot play for Enyimba, into Nigeria’s World Cup team. Some of these players would never have played for Nigeria’s Team B if things were done by merit.”
He noted that certain coaches should not be allowed near any of the national teams because all they do is trade and do things that doesn’t help for team’s unity.
The Super Eagles left Campinas yesterday for Cuiaba, where they would continue their preparation for tomorrow’s game against Bosnia.
The team will have an open training session and a press conference today ahead of the crucial encounter with Bosnia.